


paper faces on parade

by starkly



Series: you've been thunderstruck [14]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Costume Parties & Masquerades, Human/Vampire Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28235298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkly/pseuds/starkly
Summary: The problem with dating a vampire is that sometimes they get nostalgic. The kind of nostalgia that can’t be solved by looking up gen one Tamagotchis on eBay or Googling diners from the 1950s that were still open. Not even Tony’s Betamax collection could fix this one. No, what Tony was yearning for...was a 16th century masquerade ball.
Relationships: Tony Stark/Thor
Series: you've been thunderstruck [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064666
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	paper faces on parade

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for NaNoWriMo 2020 and [posted here](https://aleator.tumblr.com/post/634986638377943040) on my tumblr writing blog. This fic was proofread before being uploaded here but is otherwise unchanged.
> 
> Prompts taken from the AU-gust 2020 challenge list on Twitter. Day Fourteen: Vampire AU.
> 
> Title taken from The Phantom of the Opera.

The problem with dating a vampire (or, one of the problems with dating a vampire) is that sometimes they get nostalgic. The kind of nostalgia that can’t be solved by looking up gen one Tamagotchis on eBay or Googling diners from the 1950s that were still open. Not even Tony’s Betamax collection could fix this one.

After a few weeks of Tony moping and sighing around the house, Thor knows he has to do something. He spends some time on the internet, doing research, and once his plan is in motion he has to be extra careful to keep things secret until he can finally reveal them to Tony. It isn’t often you get to surprise a man who’s hundreds of years old, and Thor doesn’t want to waste his chance.

When the weekend in question finally arrives, Thor wakes Tony a little earlier than normal, making sure the curtains are properly secured over the windows first. Tony sits up with a yawn and a lot of bedhead, and Thor smiles and smooths down the hair of this deadly killer.

“Apologies for the early wake-up call, beloved,” Thor says, smiling warmly, “but I have a surprise for you.”

With Tony properly up and awake, Thor leads him into their closet where he has part one of his surprise laid out--Venetian masquerade costumes, as authentic as Thor could get them without straight up just stealing something from a museum. The two outfits are similarly fashioned, meant to match, in bright reds and golds with a bit of white and silver to accentuate the detailing.

“I found a group that does historically accurate masquerade balls!” Thor tells him excitedly as Tony inspects the elegant costumes. “If it were actually Carnival time I would have suggested we take a trip to Venice, but of course you had to get all sad about it in October.”

Tony laughs and looks back at Thor with a big smile on his face, and that alone warms Thor’s heart, glad that he went through all this effort just to see Tony smile like that.

“It’s a lovely idea regardless,” Tony says, setting down the cloak he’d been looking closely at and going over to throw himself into Thor’s arms instead. “Thank you, caro.”

Cradling Tony in his arms, Thor gives him a few light kisses, then lets him go with a light smack on the ass, saying, “All right, let’s get dressed so we aren’t late.”

Getting into a full masquerade costume is harder than it looks, and Thor feels like a fool in all the bright colors and delicately decorated fabrics. He keeps his mask in hand so he can actually walk without tripping over anything, but Tony slips into the expensive costume like it’s a second skin, admiring himself in the mirror--or admiring the clothes, at least, given that the rest of him doesn’t show up. When he puts the gloves and mask on, you can’t even tell that the man inside the costume isn’t visible.

They have a car take them to the castle where the masquerade is being held. It may not be completely historically accurate, but it’s not like there’s a plethora of 16th century Italian architecture in New York. Tony doesn’t seem to mind at all, excited just to be going to a proper ball with dancing and live music and everyone wearing very annoying shoes. (That last part is Thor’s commentary, not Tony’s.)

The ball is already underway by the time they arrive, and Thor bows playfully to Tony before extending his arm to him. With their masks on, Thor can’t see Tony’s face at all, but he can just imagine him smiling as he takes Thor’s arm and is led into the ballroom.

Thor’s not exactly well-versed in traditional masquerade balls at all, but he assumes that the decorations, food, and costumes of the people gathered in the hall are all mostly accurate, given the attention to detail and authenticity the group running the show purported to possess. He just hopes it’s close enough to give Tony a taste of what he’d been missing these past few weeks.

Since Tony doesn’t eat like a human, Thor figures they can skip the tables of food for now, and instead he leans in and whispers in Tony’s ear,

“Care to dance, tesoro mio?”

Tony laughs and nods, letting Thor lead him onto the dance floor where there are already other fancily dressed and masked guests dancing.

“I didn’t know you could dance like this,” Tony says, and again Thor has to imagine the fond smirk that Tony is undoubtedly wearing under his mask.

“I watched a lot of YouTube videos,” Thor admits, but he’s still a little nervous as he takes hold of Tony’s hand, glancing around at the other dancers to see what they’re doing.

“Let me lead then,” Tony says gently, and Thor nods, nervously glancing around once more before he focuses on Tony.

Tony leads him patiently through the steps alongside the other dancers, and nobody seems to care that he’s not on point the whole time, except maybe when he accidentally knocks a lady’s fan out of her hand. He hears Tony’s laughter from behind him when that happens and he finds he doesn’t even care that he’s embarrassed himself, though he does pick up the fan and apologize profusely. There’s something strangely freeing about nobody here knowing who he is, let alone not even being able to see his face.

They dance together through several songs until Tony catches hold of Thor’s arm and leads him off the dance floor. He may have unending stamina but Thor is only human, and Tony gently guides him over to the refreshments, urging him to partake. For appearances, Tony takes a drink and just holds it, declining any of the food offered to him.

Thor doesn’t hesitate to pile up a plate and grab a drink, and Tony follows him over to a table where Thor can sit and take off his mask to eat.

“Thank you for tonight, darling,” Tony tells him, seemingly happy just to watch Thor eat. He’s told Thor before that he does miss it sometimes, and he’s risked eating human food every now and then when it seemed worth the sickness that would follow. The invention of the cheeseburger was a bad time for him, apparently.

While Thor eats, Tony tells stories about his adventures at Carnival in the past, back when he primarily roamed through Europe. A few strangers around them tune in to listen, but nobody seems to think it strange that Tony speaks about the 1500s like he was there personally. They probably just think he’s part of the whole masquerade party theme.

There’s a smattering of applause when Tony finishes his last story, but Tony doesn’t notice, enthralled by the bob of Thor’s throat while he drains the last of his wine. Thor sets down the cup and grins, noticing Tony’s staring, and he licks his lips before standing up from the table, picking up his mask from the table but not putting it back on.

“Come on, love,” he murmurs, holding out his other hand to Tony and drawing him closer so he can lower his voice. “You haven’t fed for a while, have you?”

Tony’s hand tightens around his and without another word he’s pulling Thor away from the crowd, out of the ballroom entirely and down a mostly empty hallway. There’s a guard standing at the end of the hall, making sure none of the guests wander out of bounds, and Tony takes off his mask with his free hand and meets the guard’s eyes.

“You didn’t see anyone,” he intones and pulls Thor right past the guard without being stopped.

Thor hurries after him, laughing breathlessly while he tries to say sternly, “What did I tell you about mesmerizing people--?”

“It was a harmless trick,” Tony replies, unconcerned. “If Jedi can do it, so can I.”

At last he tugs Thor into a private alcove in an empty hallway, letting his mask fall to the floor so he can grasp Thor’s doublet with both hands. Thor drops his mask too, and if he was in his right mind he’d be gasping over the rough treatment of something that was definitely not cheap. Instead he gasps at the feeling of Tony’s mouth pressed against his, lips parted so that he can feel the faint prick of fang against his bottom lip.

“Brings back memories?” Thor teases when Tony lets him come up for air, cheeks flushed pink with the blood Tony clearly craves. “How many handsome men and pretty ladies did you spirit away to some hidden alcove in the dark of night in the middle of some masquerade?”

“None I want to talk about right now,” Tony says, hands at Thor’s collar, and Thor--knowing Tony’s bad habits--has enough presence of mind left to say,

“Don’t you dare rip that.”

Tony makes an annoyed sound but does as asked, instead carefully opening up Thor’s shirt enough that he can tug down the collar and reveal Thor’s perfect neck. Thor leans back against the wall and closes his eyes as Tony sinks his fangs smoothly into the skin, the natural sedative in his saliva dulling any pain for him. Tony doesn’t spill a drop as he drinks, well-versed in feeding without making a mess or killing his blood donor.

Thor keeps an arm loosely wrapped around Tony’s waist, sighing contently as Tony feeds. He always feels a little warm and fuzzy during Tony’s feedings, and while Tony insists that’s just the blood loss talking, Thor doesn’t think that’s the only reason. There’s something electrifying about getting to do this for Tony, giving him a safe, secure way to sustain himself. And it just kind of feels great too.

When Tony finishes drinking he carefully extracts his fangs and licks at the pinprick marks he left behind until they stop bleeding. Then he just as carefully does up Thor’s shirt again, making sure everything is exactly how it was when they started.

As the hazy cloud of pleasure fades from Thor’s head, he cups a hand under Tony’s chin and tugs him up into a kiss, sweeping his tongue over Tony’s as he deepens the kiss without hesitation. He draws it out as long as he can, then sighs and lets Tony go, one hand resting on Tony’s hip.

“Nobody ever wants to kiss me after,” Tony says almost dreamily, like he’s the one who just had blood drawn. His face is rosier than it was earlier this evening, the blood giving him more of a flush in his normally pale skin.

“I always want to kiss you,” Thor replies with complete earnestness, and kisses Tony again just to prove it.


End file.
